My first look at DIASPORA*

I've always been ambiguous about Facebook. The centralized control and lack of privacy bother me, and, like many people involved with free software, I'm there mainly because so many of my colleagues are. Consequently, when I finally got around to getting to getting an account for the DIASPORA* alpha, what I mainly noticed was the difference in the privacy policy and interface

DIASPORA*, in case you don't remember, is the free software alternative to Facebook, consisting of a number of connected but independent servers -- or "hubs" in DIASPORA*-speak. Although less than a year old, the project has already received considerable attention -- first because, in the tradition of the great IT myth, it was conceived by a group of college students, and, second, because it raised one of the largest total of donations ever on Kickstarter. A few months ago, there were also considerable complaints about the lack of security in the pre-alpha release.

I can't speak about the code. However, judging by the privacy pollicy and the interface, DIASPORA* now appear to be taking security more seriously.